October 14, 2022 — 5.00am
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The trial of a whistleblower who spoke up about government wrongdoing has begun in Adelaide. How did it come to this?
Richard Boyle told the truth. He spoke up because the Australian Taxation Office, an immensely powerful government agency, was abusing its power. It was ruining the lives of small business owners and Boyle, a tax office employee in its debt recovery division, wanted to do the right thing.
First, Boyle spoke up internally. When no one listened, he raised the matter with the tax ombudsman. As a last resort, he went to this publisher – as part of a joint investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with the ABC. Throughout, Boyle told the truth. The ATO had been acting inappropriately, and it was in the public interest for Australians to know.
Boyle’s actions have been vindicated by three separate inquiries. Reform to the ATO’s debt recovery practices have followed. And yet Boyle is on trial for telling the truth.
His case began last week with a whistleblowing defence. It is the first time this defence has been argued in court, making it an important legal test case.
In the ongoing hearing, a South Australian district court judge is dissecting the way in which Boyle blew the whistle. If he complied with the requirements of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the whistleblowing law for public servants, Boyle should be immune from criminal prosecution.
That is because the PID...
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